Thursday, May 18, 2017

Canisius' Castro named NFCA All-Region Third Team

Canisius sophomore designated player Lauren Castro has been named to the 2017 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Great Lakes All-Regional Third-Team, the NFCA announced on Thursday. This marks the third-straight year where Canisius has had a player named all-regional, with Castro joining former Golden Griffins Jessica Berzins (2015) and Lindsey Silfer (2016), who were also recognized as a third-team selections.

A 2017 All-MAAC First Team selection, Castro led Canisius with her team-best .355 batting average, while also ranking first on the team in hits (61), doubles (20), home runs (11), RBI (50) and total bases (116). The team's primary designated player, Castro's 11 homers tied the school's single-season home run record, and she is just the second player in school history to record 20-plus two-base hits and drive in 50-or more runs in a single season. She led the MAAC in doubles, RBI and total bases, and she also closed out the regular season ranked second in the nation in doubles, fifth in doubles per game and 29th in total bases. The team's leader with 20 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games, she drove in a career-high six runs in Canisius' 12-4 win over Dayton on March 3, and she closed out the season riding a career-long 11-game hitting streak.

Castro is one of 10 student-athletes from six different MAAC schools to be named an all-regional player this year. The NFCA honored a total of 667 student-athletes from 175 Division I institutions.